Suffolk is swimming Good Practice Centre

SUFFOLK has been named as an Everyday Swim Good Practice Centre and will now pioneer ways to increase participation in swimming and getting more people active.

SUFFOLK has been named as an Everyday Swim Good Practice Centre and will now pioneer ways to increase participation in swimming and getting more people active.

The county has been part of the national Everyday Swim project, which set out to discover what helps to increase participation in swimming. This concludes on March 31, but the Good Practice Centres will continue the work of Everyday Swim by sharing the common lessons learnt at all eight of the Everyday Swim pilot project sites, as well building on their own particular successes.

The national Everyday Swim Steering Group chose Suffolk and Islington, in London, as Good Practice Centres as they demonstrated real success in attracting people to the pool and getting them swimming regularly, particularly in getting adults to learn to swim.

In Suffolk the project has succeeded in getting people aged over 45 back into the pool by giving older adults positive stories from people in their age group via initiatives like the 'Swim Diaries'.

In Islington they succeeded in finding new ways to build an effective and entertaining pool programme of activities away from the traditional lane swimming, including Super Swim - events that take place over the summer holidays and include mini polo, diving, synchronised swimming, snorkelling and lifesaving.

Suffolk and Islington will now open their doors to swimming pool providers across the country to ensure that others are able to emulate their successes and help the national drive to get more people swimming. A full programme of what's on offer for those interested in learning will be made available on the Everyday Swim website in May.

David Sparkes, the ASA's Chief Executive, said: 'I would like to congratulate Suffolk and Islington in being named as the Good Practice Centres. They will pioneer a very important area of work, the sharing of knowledge on how to get more people swimming and get them swimming more often.

'The work of the Good Practice Centres will be able to continue thanks to the efforts of all of the Everyday Swim areas and I would like to thank them as well for their contributions to this important work.

'Everyday Swim has given us a fantastic knowledge base and now we have to make sure that we continue to build upon this so swimming is at the very heart of the London 2012 legacy.'

Lisa Chambers, Suffolk County Council Portfolio Holder for Cultural and Economic Development, said: "It is terrific news that Suffolk's bid to become an Everyday Swim Good Practice Centre has been successful. This success is recognition for all the tremendous work that has been undertaken during the past two years, which has seen members from all sectors of the community engage in water based physical activity which they may otherwise have not considered.

'This award is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that Suffolk's pools stay at the forefront of innovative, creative and targeted programming to achieve a long and lasting legacy for the health and well being of residents across the county."